CDL Major 1: Atlanta FaZe and Seattle Surge enter the upper finals

After a comprehensive 3:1 victory over Toronto Ultra, Atlanta FaZe have sealed their place in the upper bracket finals of the 2023 Call of Duty League Major I, Raleigh. The Seattle Surge defeated the New York Subliners 3:1 in the second game to knock them into the bottom bracket and book an encounter in the winner finals against Atlanta FaZe.

Atlanta FaZe upset Toronto Ultra 3:1 to enter final 

Atlanta FaZe got off to a good start at the best-of-five series, pushing out a sizable lead to put early pressure on Toronto’s defense Hotel Hardpoint. With a K/D ratio of +1.38, McArthur “Cellium” Jovel put up a fantastic performance, however, it was the combined 50 kills from Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris and Chris “Simp” Lehr that made the difference in this final map of the series.

Atlanta FaZe continued their momentum from map one into the Embassy search and destroy, the second map of the series. With another exceptional performance from aBeZy, FaZe came out on top with a 6-2 victory, pushing Toronto one step close to a clean sweep. Facing the threat of relegation, Toronto Ultra’s responded with a victory on Hotel Control, a map they appear to be among the best in.

Toronto were in danger of getting swept 3-0, but this 3-2 victory put them back in the game. The Atlanta FaZe did not allow Toronto to get comfortable and struck them with heavy counterattacks as soon as the fourth map kicked off. Despite Toronto’s best efforts, the Atlanta FaZe ran them off the stage with a 250-161 victory at Zarqwa Hydroelectric Hardpoint behind Celliulm’s incredible performance.

Seattle Surge 3:1 New York Subliners

With a 250-182 Hotel Hardpoint to win the first map of this series, New York Subliners made a solid first impression. Cesar “Skyz” Bueno put on an outstanding performance for the Subliners, recording 26 kills and a 1.63 K/D to grant his team an early advantage. The Seattle Surge leveled the series at 1-1 with a commanding 6-2 victory at Embassy Search and Destroy thanks to a strong performance under pressure from Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi, who recorded 7 kills.

The Seattle Surge took a 2-1 lead in the series following a thrilling back-and-forth battle at El Asilo Control, which ended with Seattle winning 3-2. Amer “Pred” Zulbeari stood out for Seattle, amassing 32 massive kills for the team with a K/D of +1.39. The Seattle Surge rode the wave of momentum to win the series at the Fortress Hardpoint by a score of 250-213. With a staggering 30 kills and a 1.53 K/D on the pivotal map, PRED threw everything he had to knock the Toronto Ultra to the lower bracket.

Image Credit: Call of Duty League